Hypersomnia is a sleep disorder where you experience excessive sleepiness, even after a full night’s sleep or a nap. It is the opposite of insomnia, instead of not being able to fall asleep, you feel like your body cannot get enough sleep. There are two types of hypersomnia, primary which includes narcolepsy, and secondary caused by other medical conditions, such as sleep apnea, depression or certain medications.
If you sleep nine or more hours but still need a nap during the day, or feel even more tired despite a nap, you may have hypersomnia. Hypersomnia can also cause cognitive issues, such as trouble concentrating or memory loss.
While hypersomnia is frustrating, it does not have the same extreme symptoms of narcolepsy like muscle tone loss, sleep paralysis and hallucinations. An underlying disorder usually causes hypersomnia whereas narcolepsy is genetic, can be autoimmune and is linked to a deficiency of hypocretin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates wakefulness.
This list is not exhaustive of the medications that could cause hypersomnia. If you are taking one or more of these medications and experiencing hypersomnia symptoms, reach out to your primary care provider. It is important you do not stop taking your medications, but we can help you manage both the underlying diagnosis and the hypersomnia side effects.
At Hattiesburg Clinic, we can diagnose hypersomnia through various methods. These options may include a home sleep diary, an overnight sleep study to monitor brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate and breathing during sleep, or a multiple sleep latency test to measure how quickly you fall asleep in ideal conditions during the day.
Yes, hypersomnia is a treatable sleep disorder. Hattiesburg Clinic’s team of board-certified sleep medicine physicians will work with you to establish a regular sleep schedule and components of good sleep hygiene. If caused by an underlying condition like sleep apnea, a CPAP machine and sleep apnea treatments can help cure your hypersomnia. Medications can also be used to treat hypersomnia including stimulants, modafinil or antidepressants.
Hattiesburg Clinic is dedicated to diagnosing and treating a wide range of sleep disorders, including hypersomnia. Talk to your primary care provider to find out if meeting with our sleep medicine specialists is right for you.